In recent years, members of the Westwood community have watched as the village that was once a hub of activity lost more and more of its vitality.
“Westwood was a far more dynamic place (20 years ago). It was packed on Friday and Saturday nights,” said Frank Appleby, a member of the Westwood Neighborhood Council Transition Committee.
Now there are two councils that provide a place for the community to raise concerns and a means to address issues. Both the Westwood Neighborhood Council and the Westwood Community Council aim to represent the many voices in Westwood, including those of UCLA students.
While the two councils cover Westwood stakeholders, they have key differences in areas such as funding and jurisdiction. During the formation of the neighborhood council last October, some members of the community disagreed with the council’s methods of affecting change and formed the Westwood Community Council, said Steve Sann, chair of the community council and a Westwood business owner.
The neighborhood council is funded by the city and acts as an advisory board for the city regarding Westwood issues, said Jann Williams, chair of the Westwood Neighborhood Council Transition Committee.
The transition committee’s goal was to reach out to the community and gear up for elections to fill empty neighborhood council seats, Williams said.
The neighborhood council can vote on Westwood issues such as traffic and land use in order to advise the city, Appleby said. It can also address complaints about specific problems such as cracked sidewalks or the execution of Westwood subway construction as part of the “Subway to the Sea” project, Appleby said.
“The goal would be to bring back the vibrancy that existed 20 years ago,” Appleby said.
Neighborhood councils usually use much of their funding for community outreach to encourage council involvement as well as for beautification projects, said Teofilo Ruiz, a UCLA history professor and member of the transition committee. But because of budget cuts, the neighborhood council may not receive any money from the city, Appleby said.
While the neighborhood council can interact directly with the city to address issues that come to its attention, the community council takes a different approach as an independently funded nonprofit organization.
As such, it can sponsor projects and contest state and federal decisions, as well as take action against the city, Sann said. Although it has broader jurisdiction, the community council does not receive city funding and relies on monetary support from the public.
Jay Buchalter, partner and general manager of Foot Foundations on Westwood Boulevard, said the community council seems to have a better ability to get work done on a community rather a business level but said he would like to be involved with both councils.
“If the city is dragging their feet on some of the issues, you can take it up with the nonprofit instead of dealing with the bureaucracy of the city,” Buchalter said, adding that he had to wait three days before the city dealt with a fallen branch that disrupted traffic outside his store.
As a council affiliated with the city, the neighborhood council must hold their meetings in public under the Brown Act, Williams said. And though the city does not dictate to the community council, the council’s bylaws specify it must “maintain fair, open, and transparent procedures for the conduct of Council business.”
Concerned about the economic viability of Westwood, the community council is working to bring students back to the village since Ackerman Union has become more like a campus mall, Sann said.
For about a year, members of the community council have been working to bring Target to Westwood, and Target has now filed its application with the city, Sann said.
“When I was in school, the village was like our backyard. Maybe students don’t go there because things aren’t there. But it’s a chicken or the egg question. Maybe things aren’t there because students aren’t there,” Sann said.
Despite the councils’ goals, a number of Westwood stakeholders are unaware of the two boards working to represent their interests.
“I have no idea who is who or what is what,” said Ghalid Mehmood, manager of GNC on Weyburn Avenue.
Armin Ghalichian, a UCLA alumnus who works at Textbook Plus on Westwood Boulevard, said he does not understand why the two councils exist at the same time.
UCLA students have the opportunity to impact the community on a larger level by running for seats, Appleby said. Students can fill as many as four or five renter seats in the neighborhood council, Ruiz said.
The neighborhood council has a student director position, and the community council has a seat for a UCLA student from either the Undergraduate Students Association Council or the Graduate Student Association while the other acts as an alternate, Sann said.
“I think it is important for students to get involved in anything they have an interest in. Instead of saying, “˜This sucks,’ do something about it,” Buchalter said. “One thing I regret as a youngster is I used to watch instead of act. But you’re never more passionate than when you’re young.”